Teenage Hero

A teenage girl helped save the lives of her three neighbors who were trapped inside their burning house in April 2004.

Allison Clayton and her father, Edward, smashed through their neighbors’ front window to pull the Sain family to safety from their burning home.

“We realized they were not out of the house and saw them beating on the window," Clayton said "My father and I rushed over to pry the window open, but eventually we had to just smash it through."

Clayton discovered the house was on fire when she awoke at around 3 a.m. to dogs barking.

“I looked out the window and realized the neighbors’ house was burning," Clayton said. "It was huge; the whole right side was on fire."

She woke both her parents. Her mother, Mattie, called 911 while Clayton and her father ran to see if the neighbors were safe.

“It was a terrifying experience but when something like that happens you just react to it and your emotions come later,” Clayton said.

The fire truck arrived about 10 minutes after Clayton and her father had pulled Roosevelt, Jessie and Zenovia Sain out of the burning house’s window. By that time it was too late to save the house. However, nobody suffered any serious injuries.

It was later determined that the house caught on fire when the Sain’s grandson, Roosevelt, was playing with matches and caught his bed on fire.

It was the third house on Clayton’s street to have caught on fire within the last five years. Clayton hopes it will be the last one for a long time.

“I am just grateful that everyone got out safely and I hope I never have to experience something like that again," Clayton said.